


i feel like a photo that's been overexposed

by americananirvana



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Crime, Fluff, M/M, Trans Character, Tysh, happy ending probably, josh x tyler - Freeform, joshler - Freeform, missing child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-10-12 12:47:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10491213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americananirvana/pseuds/americananirvana
Summary: joshua william dun goes missing on june 17, 2010.six years later, on november 2, 2016,they find an empty coffee cup, a dead lighter, and a polaroid picture of an overexposed familiar face lying on the side of the road.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> do i have two other fics i should finish?? you bet!! am i gonna start an entirely new fic?? yup!!
> 
> also this is reallt short bc it's the prologue but im adding longer chapters soon!!

june 12, 2010.

 

the sun is sweet on his skin and the caprisun is sweet in his mouth.

tyler lounges across his front lawn, eyes closed in bliss as he feels his lungs clear.

he hears soft footsteps as he opens his eyes to josh sitting down next to him, black curly hair frizzy. he struggles to poke the straw into the caprisun, and tyler takes it from his hands gently and does it for him.

josh smiles beamingly at him, the kind where his eyes crinkle up and he could rival the sun, tyler thinks.

josh lays down now, and spreads his fingers wide and tangles them in the green grass. 

he closes his eyes, and his cheeks are warm and pink as the sun soaks softly into the pale skin and flushes it peach. his eyelids are shiny, and tyler is mesmerized by the way the light catches on them.

tyler pokes him in the side, smiling fondly.

josh rolls on his side with a soft giggle, shirt riding up to reveal a smooth stomach and the curve of his hips. 

"stop it, ty. you're gonna make me spill my juice."

he rolls back over to face tyler, eyes half lidded and arm thrown across his forehead.

he smiles,

and in that moment, tyler knew that they had made something tangible. he and josh had created something different, something elastic and something that they could both lean on.

tyler is an introverted person.

because when god made him, he made tyler's skin out of rice paper, his heart like glass, and his head like an aquarium where almost all the fish are sharks.

he needs to feed the sharks.

tyler rolls back to where he was and gazed into the sky, into the future, into the distance.

"it's just me and you against the world, josh."

josh takes his hand.

 

june 13, 2010

tyler only gets a fleeting glimpse of josh as they flash by each other in the street like startled birds.

josh gives him a rushed smile, and then disappears into the wind.

tyler tells himself that he'll see him later, and he goes home and stares at the polaroids of their smiling faces pressed close together, daises and grass tangled in their hair.

he thinks about the taste of caprisun, of sunshine, of josh's mouth.

he imagines the taste of josh's mouth.

he lays on his bed and stares at the idle ceiling fan, the creak of his bed as he shifts to his side and the blood rushing in his ears.

tyler closes his eyes and waits.

 

june 14, 2010.

tyler doesn't see josh at all.

 

june 15, 2010.

no josh.

tyler paces his room nervously, and asks his irritated mother to call the dun household.

she says no.

and tyler retreats to his room, and weighs his anxiety against his anxiety into the early hours of the morning.

 

june 16, 2010

tyler thinks about visiting josh's house.

then he laughs at himself, a genuinely amused laugh, the kind that comedians seek to coax out of audiences.

he laughs at himself for thinking he could ever do such a thing.

tyler robert joseph, anxiety ridden, cold handed, broken hearted.

 

june 17, 2010.

the phone rings downstairs and tyler creeps halfway down the stairs, slender hands gripping the banister.

he hears the shuffle of his mom's slippers as she goes to pick it up, dropping a pen on the floor.

he listens as a gruff male voice travels over the line and folds his mother's face into an expression of concern.

"tyler?"

he walks slowly down the rest of the steps to his mother, who's holding the phone out to him with sympathetic eyes.

there's unease tingling in his fingers.

he takes the phone.

 

"hello, this is officer hopper of the columbus police. am i speaking to mr. tyler joseph?"

"that's me."

tyler shifts his weight to his other leg and leans against the counter.

"you're close friends with mr. joshua dun, correct?"

tyler just stutters out a weak yes.

there's a horrible apprehension creeping through his veins and he feels his head begin to throb.

"i am unfortunately calling you to inform you that as of today, june 17, 2010, joshua dun has been offically reported as missing."

the phone shatters loudly on the cold tile of the kitchen floor.


	2. if you knew, knew what the bluebirds sang at you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he struggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope i get beat up tomorrow

tyler cries.

he thinks about cold bodies and empty, glass eyes and blue lips.

 he starts wearing his sleepless eyes and tear tracked cheeks like decoration, a public display of his suffering.

his parents whisper behind his back, his mom worries and his dad argues.

tyler doesn't care.

he doesn't care that his siblings tiptoe by his bedroom door, he doesn't care that josh's mother is crying in her room as her husband comforts her, he doesn't care that josh's brother, jordan, is wondering how tyler is doing and sitting against his bedroom door.

instead he's lying on his bed, rolled over to the side and he's staring at the wall because he can't look at the mirror on the wall.

he's thinking about the way josh had kissed him on that day, the way josh had hovered over him and kissed him softly and sweetly and his chest pressed against tyler's.

the sun soaked their bodies as josh's caprisun mouth moved sweet against his own and tyler felt euphoria.

his mom asks him tenatively if he wants anything from the grocery store.

tyler wants kool aid.

 

his parents take him to therapy.

he sits in that cold chair in that empty room while somebody that isn't josh asks him questions that he doesn't care about.

he picks at his fingernails and stares at the wall.

he feels empty.

he nods along to the hollow rhythm of the other man's words until he's stumbling out into familiar summer sunshine.

tyler goes home and cries.

 

he stares at the ceiling and lies on the ground, and his half dead phone buzzes next to him.

he gropes blindly around lazily, grabbing his phone and squinting at the screen.

it's a text from jordan. 

_can i call you?_

tyler's eyebrows furrow and he calls jordan.

"tyler?"

"yeah."

his voice is scratchy and hopeless.

"are you-" 

jordan hesistates.

"you aren't okay. why would i even bother asking that?"

"none of us are, jordan. why are you calling?"

"i just wanted to let you know, that, uh, josh's polaroid camera is missing."

tyler sits straight up.

"what?"

there's a crackle of silence that echoes over the phone.

"wait," jordan sounds confused.

"you didn't take it?"

tyler shakes his head frantically, stuttering. his hand wrinkles the hem of his shirt.

"n-no, i didn't even know it was gone-"

jordan is silent, but his next words are a whisper.

"what if he ran away, tyler? what if he wasn't taken?"

tyler bangs his forehead against the floor.

"all i can hope is that he's alive."

 

tyler's scared now.

he's really scared.

maybe it was him.

maybe he drove josh away, away away away from home to somewhere where there isn't any tyler, there's no tyler and josh, there's just josh.

what did he do?

he feels like he's falling, but he rolls over.

he can't fall. 

he's already on the floor.

 

somewhere, far away, there is a scream.


	3. you would never sing along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tyler reaches a resolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay 1. sorry for how long this took !!! 2. sorry for how short this is :-(  
> also this is mostly filler!! but i dunno,, maybe there's lil details that'll help you figure things out :-)

after weeks, tyler has finally run out of tears.

he can't quite decide whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, however, because as painful as tears were, it was better than feeling absolutely empty and devoid of emotion.

his parents don't talk to him anymore. the only thing he ever gets are concerned looks, and reassuring touches and silence that's supposed to comforting.

he hasn't touched his piano in weeks. his brain is friend and he doesn't dare to try and write, fearful what might happen of he lets a pen touch paper. 

he can't remember the last time he took a shower.

the only thought that keeps a firm place in his head is josh.

josh and the mystery missing camera.

god, he feels sick to his fucking stomach every time he thinks about josh, josh and his nose piercing, josh and his tongue that pokes out when he laughs, josh and his stupid sunshine smile that can fix anything.

josh, mystery man josh, who has left tyler all alone with misery and  the same thoughts in his head like a broken record.

josh. josh. josh. josh. josh.

 

it takes rock bottom to reach resolution.

it's exactly two weeks after josh disappeared.

tyler sits on the floor of the basement, with an unused punching bag as his only company.

he's been putting on the same shirt for a few days now and he feels lightheaded every time he stands.

he's so tired.

hopelessness, frustration, filling and taking over every bit of his body.

god, he's so fucking useless. 

he can't do shit but wait.

and josh-

his breath stutters, not for the first time.

josh could be dead.

something he can't describe, a dead sort of heat begins to boil under his skin, slowly, slowly.

he breathes deeply, and the heat ripples, his cheeks burning.

his fingers tingle, and his entire body itches with the need to run, to break, to hit.

tyler lurches onto his feet, ignoring the way his head spins and how the grey concrete and dirty walls flicker in his vision before stumbling sprinting over to the punching bag.

he hits it as hard as he can, head still throbbing, and it shivers on his chain, flying backwards.

tyler ignore the pain in his hands, the pain in his head, the pain in his chest and he screams and he cries and he beats the punching bag until he passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please come talk to me on tumblr im lonely
> 
> !!!!!!!!  
> also i'd really like to know!!!! what kind of ending would you like to see for this story ??  
> i have four in mind at the moment.  
> please leave a comment or send me an ask on tumblr!!


	4. cast them out cause this is our culture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this place is safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for bein dead, i've been in new york the past week and under close watch 
> 
> i hope this chapter (short) meets your expectations!! thank you all for your sweet comments!!
> 
> i rlly apologize that it's such a short chapter but i needed to get it out there. it's gonna get better hopefully

tyler wakes up next to a pool of his own vomit.

he groans, eyelids fluttering. the light is too bright. it's burning red through his eyes.

the smell of it reaches his nose, and he almost retches again.

he sits up, closing his eyes as his head pounds and feeling begins to circulate through his syrupy thick blood.

well, he thinks, resigned to his fate.

he has purpose now.

clean the floor and then take a shower.

 

there are already scabs forming on his knuckles, and he picks at them absentmindly.

 an idea is festering in his mind, growing, weeding out the small plants growing beside it and pushing its way to the front of his head.

he can find josh. he will find josh.

tyler rolls his neck.

he will find josh.

and tyler reaches for the backpack under his bed, and he begins to methodically gather clothes, carefully folding and placing and squeezing.

tyler smiles dryly to himself as he searches through his closet for the other sock. 

whenever he reads stories, the author always writes the character messily shoving whatever clothes they could find into the bag without any thought.

not tyler.

tyler is prepared.

tyler is going to find josh.

tyler has a completed pair of socks.

it takes him 30 minutes to pack everything, and then he picks up his phone, contemplating.

he feels an electric bolt of adrenaline run through him. tyler is ready to run, ready to sprint.

he calls jordan instead.

the phone rings twice. tyler tugs at a lock of hair with his left hand, frowning. he needs to shower before he leaves.

"hello?"

"jordan, im going to find josh. i've packed a bag and im going to take my car and go. d-"

"tyler. slow down."

tyler is silent.

"can you repeat that?"

"i'm going to try and find josh. i've packed a bunch of my shit and i'm going to take my car in the middle of the night and go. do you want to come?"

the other side of the line is silent for a few heartbeats, a few seconds, a few minutes.

jordan's voice comes through, clear and decisive.

"what time?"

tyler smiles.

 

tyler takes a shower.

and the water is scalding hot or icy cold.

its warm. and tyler enjoys it, and he puts shampoo in his hair and he shaves and he conditions his hair and he hums.

tyler towel dries his whole body before putting on a carefully selected outfit fit for the weather.

and he plugs his phone in, he goes down to the basement.

he wraps his knuckles in ace bandages. he doesn't have boxing tape, or boxing gloves.

tyler punches the bag and he screams, and screams, and screams.

 

tyler's car is full of cd's, stacks of them. from fall out boy to queen to a cd he picked up from some tiny wannabe band that he and josh went to see together.

he has a stack for the ones he collected from street musicians.

tyler picks up the one from the forlorn concert that he and josh went to. he opens it tenderly, mindful, and carefully places one of the polaroids of him and josh, the one where they're both smiling, and snaps it closed.

he puts it in the glovebox.

jordan taps on the window. jordan gets in. jordan doesn't say a word. jordan tosses a few bags in the backseat.

tyler turns the key to start the car, and along with the engine, a longing ignites in him, to find, to hunt.

tyler steps on the gas and they drive and they drive and they drive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are happening,,,
> 
> so i think this is going to end well,, based on the feedback i got,,, but we'll see i guess :-)
> 
> comments?


	5. because they took our love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> was this a bad idea?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im going to be completely honest with you guys if it seems like im writing some complicated plot with shocking twists  
> i have very little idea where this is going so if anything surprises you chances are it surprised me too

by the time they're driving on the freeway out of town, after hours of looking through woods and handing out flyers, they're both exhausted.

tyler can't help the quiet, echoing thought that they'll never find josh like this. just two fucking teenage boys, in a secondhand car with a stack of green "missing person" flyers fluttering in the backseat.

there's hope in jordan's dark eyes, and tyler's heart jumps every time he sees the back of jordan's head in his peripheral vision.

it looks so much like josh's, soft curls unkempt and curling around his ears and the nape of his neck.

tyler winces and keeps on driving.

jordan's voice is nothing short of a whisper.

"do you wanna stop somewhere for food?"

tyler nods in the darkness. a passing light from a place unknown lights up his face briefly.

"taco bell?" his fingers tap on the steering wheel before freezing.

jordan is silent. jordan brings his legs to his chest.

tyler spots a sign for a mcdonalds, flips on his blinker and merges onto the exit.

 

jordan slips a couple flyers over the counter at mcdonalds and asks them to post a few up. there's clear sympathy in the young cashier's eyes, and she goes to ask her manager. the manager takes their order while the cashier and jordan put up signs.

jordan gets in a booth, and takes out his phone. he ignores the 24 calls from his parents.

tyler goes to piss.

there's a guy at the sink with a bleached undercut.

"are you the guy putting up those missing signs?"

tyler is tired. "yeah."

the man at the sink sighs. "i'm sorry. i hope you find him."

 

tyler and jordan eat their shitty ass fries, they thank the employees, and they leave.

jordan whispers. "they're probably all worried. maybe after... josh disappearing, it wasn't a good idea to leave."

tyler is silent. he turns on the engine.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eek sorry for the late update!


	6. and now im just stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this was a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i say this every chapter but im so sorry for the late update holy fuck  
> also i think i'll be removing the chapter limit of 15 because it think it's going to take me more than 15 chapters for this story to turn out the way i want it to

tyler's a fucking idiot.

he has a death grip on the steering wheel, and his shoulders are tense. he's staring into the road.

jordan looks at him warily.

tyler hates himself.

what the fuck was he thinking? that was going to bring josh home? like a fucking hero?

tyler has to resist the urge to slam his head against the wheel.

two teenage boys decide that they're the perfect candidates to find their missing brother, their missing best friend, and they leave their family behind with worry and take a road trip to a fucking mcdonalds.

what was he thinking? he doesn't live in a teen novel.

he is not the main character.

the agreement they make to go back is completely silent.

tyler imagines hot steam coming out of his ears. or maybe they're rain clouds. its hard to tell.

jordan glances at him again and settles into his seat. he looks out the window.

tyler thinks about what he's going to say to his parents when he gets home.

he just lets his grip relax, and his mind goes on autopilot as he prepares himself for the onslaught of screaming and crying.

 

when he pulls up to the sidewalk, he and jordan share an apprehensive look. no moms come rushing out of the house crying, thank god. regret is flooding his entire body. god, he'd do anything to go back.

"hey, i- uh. i'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. you can tell your parents it was my fault."

jordan shakes his head.

"you didn't drag me into anything, tyler. i want to find him as much as you do."

jordan touches his shoulder, for a second, and gets out of the car. tyler watches him knock on the door. he's dragged inside the house as soon as his hand touches the door twice.

tyler tilts his head back in the seat and winces. he gets out of the car, closes the door, and shoves his hands in his pockets.

the ten steps it takes to get to his front door is the longest walk of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> id say that ill update more often but we all know thats not true  
> anyways sorry for more filler. the next chapter we'll see his parent's reactions and maybe a lil sneak peek of josh...

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr:washedouteyes  
> thanks for reading.


End file.
